On a tangent

Pretenders. You know these people. They're the ones who pretend to be something they're not, just to be in the loop. They are sports fanatics, the movie critic's biggest fans and society's most loved conformists.\nMy most recent experience with pretenders was before the final episode of "Survivor." They commented about how excited they were to watch the last episode, after only watching the week before or never seeing it at all. Some pretenders even held gatherings and functions to see the final episode, as if they had been watching since episode one.\nIf you think "Survivor" is where it stops, you're wrong. It happens every season with the crowning of a new champion. We can find pretenders in football, baseball and basketball. These fans tend to be the most eccentric, with the latest styles in sports wear, since their wardrobe and team changes with every passing season. \nPretenders can also be found during elections. They don't come out during the actual election to vote, but soon after the final vote has been tallied. Pretenders are the people who don't vote and are certain that whoever is elected is the best choice. They will be the ones who can't make a decision on either Al Gore or George W. Bush, so they don't vote and back the winner.\nThough it might sound appealing to always agree with everyone, there are some problems with being a pretender. One such problem is a lack of ability to make decisions. Every decision made about pop culture is ultimately dependent upon the majority. \nYou'll notice this if you go to a movie with a group of friends and there is a pretender in the group. After the movie, the pretender is usually the silent one waiting to hear the group's reaction to the movie; only then does the pretender vocalize an opinion. Even though the pretender might not think it was the best movie of the year, if the group thought it was, then it was.\nThis can lead to other problems for a pretender. For example, what if the pretender sees the movie with only one other friend? After the movie, the friend will ask the pretender what he thought of the movie. The pretender will give an ambiguous reply, such as, "The movie had its good parts and its bad parts. I'm not sure what I think of it quite yet. What do you think?" Of course, the pretender doesn't know what to think of the movie yet; the other person hasn't stated his opinion.\nIf you aren't a pretender, I'm sure you have a friend who is one ' and that isn't a bad thing at all. For one, this friend will always agree with you on pop culture and will have a way of making you feel better about the decisions you've made. Pretenders are everywhere, and there is nothing wrong with these people. It's just a matter of recognizing that other people determine what they do and don't like.\nSo, for all the pretenders out there, I say, "Hmm, I'm not sure. What do you think"